local markets :: aramar

hello everyone, how are you feeling today? i hope it was a good monday for you! well, it was for me, as i was able to have lunch with a very good friend and grab a cup of coffee with another good friend of mine! it was a sunny day… and i finally picked up some new prints i was hoping for in the last days! i will share later! so, what brings us today here? it is tuesday, so if you are a frequent reader you know what that means, don’t you? {local markets} day! yay! today we shall have a very springish collection… curious?

this beautiful and colourful bracelet is the work of inês batista, the lovely girl behind {aramar}. i would like you to meet her!

can you tell us something about yourself? at the tender age of 8 months i went with my parents to Mozambique where i lived until i was 14. now i’m 26 and i live in almada, a city right across the river from lisbon. i studied psychology but never finished the course and now i’m a full-time crafter (and blogger), and i’m also attending a ceramics course at a pretty studio in lisbon. plus, i love to travel (i would do it constantly if i could), eat cakes and watch woody allen movies.

how did {aramar} start? it started when i was still in college. i have always liked making things and really felt the need to express myself in a more creative way. so, i bought wire and some pliers, and started making earrings and other accessories. hence the name {aramar}, which in portuguese means something like moulding wire. as time passed by, i started experimenting other things, for example the hand painted wooden bracelets that became my main products. even tough now i don’t work with wire very often, i decided to keep the name {aramar}. i really like the way it sounds and how it can be more subjective, not so objective.

what inspires you? it can be everything and anything. i’m always drawn to patterns, whether they’re in a pretty fabric, or book cover, or even in the facade of a building. my creativity is a bit fluctuating… i can be in a place filled with visual stimulation and don’t feel inspired, or be in a minimalist space and have tons of ideas. that’s why i’m always going back to my childhood memories. it’s safer that way.

what advice can you give for those small business owners in our country? be proud of your work. if you really like what you do, you’ll fight harder for it. also, don’t take everything for granted and question things, always.

what do you think would be helpful for those small business owners in our country? to me, the only way to grow a stable and healthy business is to make original and recognizable pieces. if you work in quantity, rather than quality, the chances are that your work will be much more forgettable. also, be aware that profit margins are something you can only think about in a long run. just enjoy the process and love what you do!

i have been in angola a few times, for business, and some of inês’ work really reminds me of african patterns and colours with no doubts. but also these are very joyful, reminding us to wear pretty things, specially in spring and summer, when our arms are a bit more naked! you can also read a bit of inês’ daily stories on her {blog}, and of course browse through her work on her {shop}!

what is {local markets}? a community dedicated to the very best portuguese talented & independent artists that strive for an original work and exquisitely executed handmade design & photography. once a week, there will be a special feature for these artists, to spread the word about their talent, to introduce you to new & fresh work. {local markets} is an original feature from {a place for twiggs}.